China Art Market Declines More Than Suggested

China's opaque, fraud-riddled art market suffered a much-steeper decline last year than industry experts previously suggested, with roughly half of the country's auction offerings going unsold in 2012, according to a report published Wednesday by a pair of auction watchdogs.

Details about the sales performance of China's auction houses have been difficult to glean since the country's art market started to boom five years ago. Some top auctioneers in mainland China have refused to talk about pieces that they sold for...